Local authorities in India have agreed to exempt Nepali exporters and importers from detention charges for Nepal-bound containers stranded by internal problems at Kolkata Port in West Bengal.

The exemption follows continuous efforts by the Nepali Consulate General’s Office in Kolkata at the request of Nepali traders to lobby for extending the 10-day deadline after which detention charges will be levied

“The recent problems at Kolkata Port slowed the clearance of Nepali containers which resulted in their piling up,” said Consulate General Chandra Ghimire.

“This could have led to detention charges but now they have been cancelled.”

The problems started in the second week of January following raids by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) at Kolkata Port regarding an alleged corruption case in which some top officials were also arrested.

“However, the clearance process will now move faster as the local authorities have deputed additional staff at our request,” Ghimire added.

‘Unauthorised tax problems resolved’

Nepali entrepreneurs have been facing problems of unauthorised taxes imposed on them while using the Kakarbhitta-Fulbari-Bangalbandh route for exports and imports to and from Bangladesh or third countries.

Following complaints about different groups collecting taxes from Nepali trucks illegally, the Cosulate General’s Office in Kolkata took up the issue with the Indian authorities recently.

‘’Now the problem of unauthorised taxes are no more as Indian authorities have assured us that they will stop them,” said Ghimire who was in Jalpaiguri last week to take stock of the situation.

However, the problems created by the taxes collected by the Siliguri-Jalpaiguri Development Authority on Nepal-bound cargo have still not been sorted out.

“The bilateral treaty of transit has not envisioned such taxes being imposed on Nepal-bound cargo, and recent discussions with Indian officials in this regard are heading in a positive direction,” he said.